This Bargain Hunters Road Trip Will Take You To The Best Thrift Stores In Wisconsin

Who among us doesn’t love scoring a deal? There’s almost nothing better than the fun of bargain shopping and finding something you love, all for a price at a fraction of its original cost. If you’re someone who loves the thrill of the hunt, digging for a deal and unearthing stuff hidden deep within the depths of a thrift store, this is the article for you. This trip is just 85 miles long, but takes you to eight different and amazing thrift stores where you’ll find steals, deals and bargains galore. Gas up the car, grab some friends and spend a day filling up your house without emptying out your wallet! Here’s the ultimate bargain hunter’s road trip in Wisconsin.

Grab the interactive map for the road trip here. You can make modifications like adding stops or shortening the route if you wish as well.

Please note, Silly Monkeys Funky Resale has closed.

Google Maps

Take your time, move quickly, whatever you feel like doing is totally up to you. That's the beauty of self-guided touring! You're guaranteed to have a trunk full of goodies when you reach the end of this trail of treasures just waiting to be discovered.

The Wire Basket/Facebook

This place is chock-full of vintage goods. You'll find some current stuff here and there, but they definitely skew towards the '60s and decades prior. It's organized very well and is easy to get around in, which can be hard to come by with lots of vintage shops (not that we're not obsessed with them anyway). There's plenty of stuff to be found here, but you definitely don't feel like you might knock something over every time you turn around. Whew!

Address: 243 East Main Street, Sun Prairie, WI, 53590

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Silly Monkeys Resale/Facebook

Editor's note: Silly Monkey's Funky Resale appears to have closed since this article was published.

Alright, let's get real here: kid stuff is expensive, and the little ones use it for so short a time. No worries, though! You'll find all kinds of amazing stuff here that looks brand-new and is just waiting to have a chance at its second life. There are tons of brand name items, too, and it's the place to go for an awesome Halloween costume when the time is right! Make sure to double-check their website for their most current hours of operation before you visit.

Address: 306 North Lawn Avenue, Madison, WI, 53704

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Boomerang's Resale/Facebook

Some thrift stores can be chaotic, but there's actually a really chill and calm vibe here that makes it a lot of people's go-to thrifting hotspot in Madison. You'll find a bit of everything in these walls, along with great prices and awesomely friendly staff.

Address: 1133 North Sherman Avenue, Madison, WI, 53704

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Joey R./Foursquare

Okay, this one might be stretching the definition of "thrift store" a bit here, but the UW Swap Shop is a big warehouse in Verona that has twice-weekly public sales. 'Swap' in this case is actually an acronym for "Surplus With A Purpose", and their goal is to reduce the University of Wisconsin’s environmental footprint. Because they take in items from the university as well as other government agencies, you never quite know what you’ll find at the Swap Shop (or in their online auctions) and that’s what makes it so darn fun. The shop is open Monday through Friday for UW departments, municipalities, public schools and state agencies. Definitely make sure to check the UW Swap Shop website for hours and times they're open to the public for auctions.

Address: 1061 Thousand Oaks Trail, Verona, WI, 53593

Facebook/AgraceThriftStore

The staff here is super friendly, it's always very clean, and there are treasures to be found - what else could you want from a good (scratch that, great) thrift store?

Address: 2402 East Springs Drive, Madison, WI, 53704

Gene's Resale Shop/Facebook

Mazomanie is a bit of an offbeat artists' town as it is and the thrifting here reflects that. You'll find unusual, quirky, eclectic and awesome stuff at this great store just outside of Madison.

Address: 122 West Commercial Street, Mazomanie, WI, 53560

2nd Chance Resale/Facebook

Not only does this place have a great selection of stuff, but they were incredibly helpful to the local community as people were affected by floods some years back. These folks provided a ton of support, making them an even better part of the community. It feels rewarding to shop here.

Address: 106 Brodhead Street, Mazomanie, WI, 53560

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Recycled Sally's/Facebook

This consignment shop does the resale thing totally right - a clean, organized store that doesn't take itself too seriously that's loads of fun to visit. Make sure you like the store on Facebook to see their new additions, as well as sales and lots of other insider info. We suspect our bank accounts would be in trouble if we lived closer. We love everything about shopping here!

Address: 119 3rd Avenue, Baraboo, WI, 53913

Whew! What an adventure. There’s no doubt in our minds that this bargain hunter’s trip in Wisconsin is probably one of the top day trips we thrift store lovers could ask for. We also have a pretty stellar antiquing road trip that would piggyback really well with this one to make for one heck of an epic weekend of shopping and bargain hunting. Check it out here.

What are your favorite thrift shops in Wisconsin? Tell us about them in the comments!